Provexis PLC
24 July 2007
For release 07:00 24 July 2007
Provexis plc
('The Company')
Annual General Meeting Statement
At the Annual General Meeting of Provexis plc, to be held at 11.00 a.m. this
morning, the non-executive Chairman of Provexis plc, Dawson Buck, will make the
following statement.
In the Company's full year results statement on 30 May 2007 I announced a
significant refocus in our business, with the planned closure of the Sirco(R)
juice brand, as the Company shifted the focus of the business solely to the
discovery, development and licensing of functional and medical food
technologies.
Sirco(R) closure
Subsequently, on 2 July 2007 the Company confirmed the closure of the Sirco(R)
juice brand as a key element in its strategy of focusing on licensing activity.
The Sirco(R) juice brand was successful in raising the profile of our Fruitflow
(R) technology in the global functional food market. The closure process is now
complete and there are no financial write-offs as a result of the closure.
Fruitflow(R) licensing
The management team has identified four major sectors for the commercial
development of the Company's patented Fruitflow(R) heart-health technology: food
and dairy; beverages; deep vein thrombosis; and dietary supplements and medical
products.
In the food and dairy sector, the Company signed a 12 month Exclusivity
agreement with Unilever in July 2006 and a long-term Collaboration agreement in
March 2007 with the goal of developing an advanced version of Fruitflow(R). The
new format has now been manufactured in several extended pilot plant trials and
the Company recently completed a successful trial in human subjects. The Company
is in discussions with Unilever about how this might be taken forward.
In the beverage sector, discussions regarding an exclusivity agreement are
underway with a global leader in beverage brands. The Company is also carrying
out a product application assessment of Fruitflow(R) with a further global food
and beverage corporation.
Work continues on a potential deep vein thrombosis product. In the coming year,
the management team will accelerate its efforts to gain a foothold in the
dietary supplement market.
Science development
The scientific team has dedicated recent months to the development of the new
concentrated version of Fruitflow(R) and the successful human trial of this
advanced version. In the coming months resource will be committed to the
development of scientific support for deep vein thrombosis.
The Company is to accelerate the development of its patented plantain-based
technology. This extract from the plantain has been jointly developed with the
University of Liverpool and is intended to treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease. A
specific application for the treatment of Crohn's Disease patients in remission
has been developed and a healthy human trial will be carried out in the coming
weeks. Following approval of our clinical dossier, an 18-month trial on Crohn's
patients will commence later in 2007. Further applications for the plantain
technology are also being explored.
The management team is to devote significant time to the identification of new
technologies in the coming year, seeking to strengthen further the value of our
pipeline.
Financial
Following the placing of new shares to raise £2.15 million in April 2007 and a
significant reduction in our cash burn, the Company's working capital position
is secure. Cash at bank at the end of June was £1.41m, slightly behind forecast
as a result of restructuring costs. Tight financial controls are in place and
the Directors believe that capital resources are sufficient to deliver current
objectives.
Summary
The Company has been through a year of extensive change and I believe that the
Company is now well positioned to compete effectively on a global basis in the
strongly growing functional foods sector. It now has relationships in place with
major global corporations and we look forward to advancing to license
arrangements as the Company further develops the scientific and regulatory base
for the Fruitflow(R) technology, in addition to bolstering the value of its
future pipeline of applications in this and other areas.
Enquiries:
Provexis plc
Stephen Moon, Chief Executive Tel: 020 8392 6634
Arbuthnot Securities
Tom Griffiths/Alasdair Younie Tel: 020 7012 2000
Adventis Financial PR
Chris Steele Tel: 020 7034 4759
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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